INTERIM EXECUTIVE
Christophe Chaptal
Interim CEO and interim sales & marketing director for mid-sized industrial and service companies: ownership transition, repositioning, reorganisation, redeployment. I work directly with shareholders or alongside interim management firms.
PROFILE
Connecting strategy, offer, organisation and the front line.
Trained as an industrial designer, I founded a product design agency, then held senior executive roles at Groupe SEB and Peugeot.
Managing partner of CC&A, then Experience makers, since 2009, I first worked as a consultant – strategic diagnosis, offer repositioning, reorganisation – then as an interim executive, leading mid-sized companies as CEO or as sales and marketing director.
This dual background, innovation and design on one side, strategy and operational delivery on the other, lets me tackle together what organisations often keep apart.
Sectors: automotive and mobility, industrial equipment, B2B distribution and services, household appliances, media.
Mobility: assignments in France and abroad.
WHEN TO CALL IN AN INTERIM EXECUTIVE
Four situations where time matters.
Ownership transition or new shareholder
Securing operational continuity and governance through a family succession or the arrival of a new shareholder, then preparing what comes next.
Repositioning
When the historical market declines: redesigning the offer, segmentation and brand, and bringing teams along in the new direction.
Reorganisation
Redesigning organisation, processes and management, with well-handled employee relations and clear responsibilities.
Commercial redeployment
Revitalising sales, structuring key accounts and the network, and getting back to growth.
HOW AN ASSIGNMENT WORKS
Four stages, from day one to handover.
1. Diagnosis
In-depth listening to every stakeholder – teams, suppliers, customers, partners and shareholders – and analysis of the business model, to understand the issue precisely.
2. Action plan
A short roadmap agreed with the shareholders: three to five workstreams, who decides what, and the indicators tracked every month.
3. Execution
Fast execution, driven by performance and team motivation: decisions taken without delay, results measured every month, immediate corrections as soon as an indicator drifts.
4. Handover
Handing over an organisation, management principles and a team that hold beyond the assignment.
WHAT I BRING
Strategic vision and operational execution.
- A clear strategy and offer positioning
- Secure operational continuity and governance
- Teams re-engaged, from the executive committee to the front line, around clear priorities and monthly indicators
- Teams and processes structured to last beyond the assignment
I have led companies as CEO and as sales and marketing director, in industrial groups and mid-sized companies, then as an interim executive.
Christophe Chaptal – managing partner, Experience makers · LinkedIn · Recent assignments
RECENT INTERIM ASSIGNMENTS
General management, sales and marketing.
2025
Interim managing director, Key Accounts business unit
Multi-site services group (€50m, 130 franchisees) – member of the group management committee. Repositioned the business unit (€12m) towards some one hundred key accounts and the hundred or so approved franchisees that act as its subcontractors. Aligned operational capabilities with customer needs, and automated the value chain, from tender responses to service delivery. Roadmap to grow the unit to €40m.
2024
Interim sales, marketing and communications director
Industrial B2B distributor (350 employees, €150m) – member of the management committee. Reorganised into business units, managing 150 people. Improved sales performance: sharper offer segmentation, targets by customer segment, data-driven personalisation and dynamic pricing.
CAREER
A common thread: industry.
Since 2009
CC&A, then Experience makers
Managing partner – strategy and organisation consulting, including the turnaround of a 1,000-employee automotive engineering firm alongside its chairman, then interim management assignments (see above)
2005 – 2009
Automobiles Peugeot
Managing director, retail subsidiary – first Lean roll-out in the company-owned network
2001 – 2005
Peugeot Motocycles
Marketing, design and communications director, executive committee member – brand repositioning and product range renewal
1995 – 2001
Groupe SEB
VP Strategic Marketing, Food & Beverage Preparation business unit, management committee member – global offer repositioning through innovation and design
1993 – 1995
Arion
Partner, strategy consultant
1984 – 1992
Design Service
Founder and chairman of a product design agency
BEYOND ASSIGNMENTS
Publications, commitments and teaching.
Books
- L’entreprise vertueuse – Combiner rentabilité et morale (2026)
- Chapter “La stratégie durable et sa chaîne de valeur”, Stratégies durables (EMS, 2026)
- L’expérience client et son modèle économique (Design fax, 2018)
- Le manifeste du faire (Fyp, 2016)
- La chaîne de valeur de l’offre (De Boeck, 2015)
- Le marketing de rupture (De Boeck, 2014)
- Le Design – Management stratégique et opérationnel (Vuibert, 2011)
- Some ten books in all on strategy, marketing and design; contributor to Harvard Business Review (French edition)
Commitments
- Publisher of Design fax, the French design industry newsletter (since 2016)
- Chairman of the association Design et Industrie (since 2023)
- Former chairman of APCI, the French design promotion association recognised as being of public interest (2017 – 2019)
- Member of Paris Business Angels
Education and teaching
- ESDI – product designer
- INSEAD – Advanced Management Program
- Has taught at Sciences Po Executive Education, ICN Business School and IFP School
Awards
- Étoile de l’Observeur du Design
- Janus de l’Industrie
- Motorcycle Design Award
- Prix Stratégies, Prix du Sénat, Prix Montgolfier
Interviews for Design fax
Every Monday since 2019, I have interviewed a leading figure of French design for Design fax – nearly 300 interviews to date, including Airbus, Dassault Aviation, Groupe Renault, Michelin, EDF, Orange, Saint-Gobain, Groupe ADP, Carrefour and Bel.
Let’s talk about your situation.
A first 30-minute conversation, with no commitment, to see whether and how I can help.